A/N: So a quick question to you all. Did someone prominent recently promote or recommend this story? Over the past three days I've gotten a surge of reviewers, and I was wondering if I needed to thank someone, or it was the result of there not being many Rey Skywalker/SkyRogue fics, and this one finally proving to be long and consistently updated enough to invest your time in?

The Long Way Home

Chapter Ten

Dead Ends

"Felicity Rhiaon is dead," Kylo Ren's mocking words echoed in Luke's mind.

The confrontation of his nephew on the Tonides base of the First Order had occurred over a month ago. As expected, the whole thing had been a trap. Han had done his best to distract the guards while Luke and Chewie pressed forward to find Felicity. Instead they found an unmasked Kylo Ren waiting for them with a legion of Stormtroopers and devastating news.

"I killed her myself!" Kylo had been gleeful at the thought of his aunt being murdered. "I ended her miserable existence, and ridded the world of her corruptive influence."

"No. You're lying," Luke had said, half in fear and half in genuine disbelief. "Felicity is not dead."

"Yes, she is," Kylo had grinned. He had pulled out a small HoloDisc from his cloak. "See for yourself."

Kylo had switched on the HoloDisc. It had projected the image of Felicity on her knees, tied up, face bruised, bloodied, and hair sheered crudely. Evidently the footage had been recorded seconds after Hux telling Luke he had seven days to get Felicity.

The camera was zoomed in extremely close, only Felicity's panicked expression filling the screen. There were muffled screams behind her gagged mouth, and she was shaking her body, trying to wretch free.

Luke would never forget her wide hazel eyes; panic and fear filling them as she tried to scream for help. He would never forget the gloved hand that brought the blaster to her temple. He would never forget Felicity's muffled shouts as the hand squeezed the trigger. He would never forget the blast, the way Felicity's eyes went blank, and how she fell to the ground.

"And do you know what I did next?" Kylo had asked gleefully, watching as Chewie let out a roar of grief and his uncle literally shaking with anger, struggling not to attack Kylo where he stood. "Do you know what I did to that schutta you call a wife?"

Luke would never forget the image Kylo next showed. The thing he would refuse to ever tell Han and Leia. The thing he would swear Chewbacca to secrecy about. The thing that would cause Luke to leave the base without his wife's body.

Because what the First Order did to Felicity Rhiaon ensured Luke would have no body to lay to rest. She was lost, just as Rey had been.

But Luke didn't leave the base then and there. Upon seeing what Kylo did to Felicity, Luke stood there, catatonic in shock and murderous rage.

Kylo was arrogant. He was not the naïve Ben Solo, Luke had been pleading with to come home. Luke looked upon Kylo with new eyes: he knew there was no redemption. Even Vader wouldn't have sunk to the level of vicious anger and bitter hatred that Kylo had resorted to. In Luke's eyes, Vader was a hero for strangling his pregnant wife compared to what Kylo did to Felicity.

Kylo couldn't stop gloating, going on and on about what he had done to his rival and how much he enjoyed every moment of it. Luke didn't hear any of the words, them becoming muted in the background, an angry buzzing paired with the pounding in Luke's ears. It was only when Kylo slipped the disk into Luke's breast pocket that Luke finally snapped.

The Dark Side flooding into him, Luke grabbed his nephew by the throat and threw him to the ground. Kylo let out a surprised yelp while Chewie roared and the Stormtroopers advanced. Despite their efforts, and the objecting cries of Force Ghosts in his mind, no one could get Luke to stop. Consumed by hatred, anger, and the Dark Side, Luke wrapped his hands around the throat of his own nephew and refused to let go until Kylo Ren was as dead as his wife and daughter.

It was Chewie who eventually got Luke off of Kylo, locking his arms around Luke's chest and pulling him backwards. Holding Luke in place with one arm, his used his other to bash away a line of Stormtroopers and pulled Luke towards the door.

"No! NO!" Luke had cried out, struggling to escape Chewie's unyielding grasp.

By the time they got to Han at the Falcon, Luke had calmed enough for Chewie to let him go. Luke was in complete and utter shock: shock at what happened to Felicity, and shock at what he had done to his own nephew.

"Let's get out of here!" Han had cried when he caught sight of the others. When they came closer into view, running at top speed for the loading ramp of the Falcon, Han frowned at the number. "Wait! Stop! Where's Fliss?"

There was a heartbreaking silence.

"Felicity's dead," Luke couldn't believe his own words.

He still didn't believe his words a month later. His wife, Felicity Rhiaon, the love of his life, his other half, his opposite, his match, his soulmate, his true love, the mother of his child, and keeper of his heart… she was dead.

And it was all his fault.

If he had gone to Leia's office the second Ben showed up…

If he had stayed in Leia's office in the first place to listen to the messages…

If he had called Unkar Plutt again…

If he had left his line open…

If he had gone with them to Jakku…

If he had let them stay on Rornian…

If he had never left in the first place…

If he had stopped Ben's fall to the Dark Side…

So many errors, one disaster after another and now the two most important women in his life were dead. True he had Han and Leia, but knowing what Ben had done, knowing he had failed their son, Luke could barely stand being in their presence. It was all his fault; he had destroyed their family, and this time there was nothing to go back to.

It felt hollow to be back on Rornian. The ceremony to burn and bury the ashes of his Jedi was long past, and now Luke and a team of people were picking through the rubble of the Jedi Temple and his home to see what they could recover.

It felt even more hollow for Luke to be standing in the office of his late wife. As architect, Felicity's office stored all of the blueprints of the various buildings on Rornian, and Leia had sent Luke in to get the ones for the Temple to make sure they didn't miss any rooms. The fire had collapsed and buried many walls and hallways, and it was hard to recognize the once familiar floorplan.

Luke suspected ulterior motives to being sent in to Felicity's office. It was the only building left standing of personal significance to the Skywalker family. The home, Temple, and Luke's office within the Temple had been burned down, but Felicity's office had been left untouched. Unlike some of the houses that though left standing, had been trashed, Felicity's office was exactly like she had left it. Looking around the room, Luke could imagine Felicity had gone home for lunch and would be back to start on work any minute.

But she would never step foot in that room again.

The office was a small building not far from the Skywalker residence. Originally it had been a house for a Jedi named Obik Kenu, but two years after moving to Rornian, he had married Reine Agim and moved into her bigger house. Obik had very simple tastes, and his one floor house had zero frills. The entrance way had relatively unchanged as had the small bathroom and kitchen. The ship garage was retained, though always sat empty as Felicity would walk to her office from home. The living room was converted into a waiting room, the guest bedroom as the designing room with her easel, drawing implements, measuring equipment, and other such tools, and the master bedroom served as Felicity's actual office.

Unlike the office Felicity had during her years as a Senate Emissary, her architecture office was very homey. Personal holos riddled the walls and various surfaces, and a set of clothing, weapons, and a fold up cot were stored in the closet for times she had to pull all-nighters. A fully stocked caf station sat in the corner, accompanied by a select of hot chocolate mix for the times her husband would visit her. There was a small box with toys and activities that Felicity would open during the days she had to work and babysitting for Rey fell through (Felicity being relegated to watching Rey as Luke's duties didn't allow him a lot of distractions and were honestly a lot more boring to Rey.)

The rest of the house had other such personalization to it that sometimes Luke would joke that she secretly was planning to leave him and live there but just needed to figure out what to do with Rey. There was a tiny element of truth to the idea as during the two or three times Luke and Felicity had gotten into a big enough fight that they need space from each other for a while, Felicity had actually lived in her office building for a few days. It was extremely rare for their fights to get to that level, and it usually ended with one of them going to the home of the other, both apologizing and falling into each other's arms in a bit of passionate reconciliation.

Those fights had mainly been for the really big issues such as when Felicity suffered her postpartum depression, or one time when they had gotten into a huge disagreement involving Ben and how Felicity no longer felt safe with letting him be alone with Rey. Luke had managed to eventually convince Felicity that everything would be alright, and Felicity had come home.

And because he won that argument, now Felicity would never come home.

Luke sighed as he retrieved from a cabinet the small data chip that contained the blueprints of the Jedi Temple. Felicity had not designed it, and in fact had only been designing things for a little more than six years. Most of Temple Village had been completed when he and his new bride had moved to Rornian, and in fact that had been the whole point. Luke had thought it selfish to put his personal needs before that of the Jedi Order, and thus made a point of having his home be one of the last buildings constructed.

Yet looking around Temple Village, one could see Felicity's projects all around. The small school where Jedi Knight Eline Typhe-Korden taught the children their basic education. The library where the residents would gather for entertainment and trade HoloNovels, HoloVids, HoloMags, and other such Holo technology. The market building Felicity had convinced Luke to build so that all supplies would be in a central location. There was no money exchanged between the residents of Temple Village, and all supplies was communal, trusting that people would take only what they need. Before Felicity created the market, one had to go to each individual location to collect their needs: medical supplies at Doctor Kalonia's office, food from the meditation gardens, outside materials from the delivery hangar, and so forth.

Now none of it would be needed; only he and Doctor Kalonia were the last people alive.

A light knock on the door stirred Luke from his thoughts.

"Come on," Luke hastily called as he wiped the tears he just realised had formed in his eyes.

The door slid open to reveal Poe Dameron carrying a small storage crate, followed by BB-8.

"Hey, General Organa said I could find you here," Poe hesitantly lingered at the door. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, of course not." Luke gestured to the chair across the desk, "Please, come on."

Poe gave a half smile and entered the room.

"Thank you, again Poe for coming to help go through the debris," Luke said. "I know there's a huge list of things you'd rather spend your summer vacation doing."

"Don't think anything of it," Poe set down the crate on the desk. "It's the least I can do. This is the first box of things we've found. Some of it's a little charred, but everything's in a good enough condition. General Organa said to go through it when you're ready. …You know, Luke, I don't know if I've had to chance to express my condolences. I'm really sorry for your loss."

"Yeah," Luke said, his voice distant as he stared at a Holo on Felicity's desk. It was a simple shot of Felicity with her arms wrapped around Rey in a hug, the two girls laughing. "I'm sorry too."

"Is it true what they're saying about Felicity? She's gone too?"

Luke nodded as he lowered his head, trying not to let Poe see his tears. BB-8 watching from the corner made a sad noise and updated the living status of Felicity Rhiaon's file in his system to deceased.

Poe sighed and dropped his own head, "I'm sorry. She was a good friend to me and my family. If you need anything at all-"

"I know," Luke gave Poe a smile, but Poe could see the pain and falseness behind it. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Poe immediately regretted his response when he saw the look on Luke's face. Poe winced and looked over at his droid in the corner, "Come on, BB-8, let's give Luke some privacy."

"Wait, can you give this to Leia?" Luke handed Poe the data chip with the Temple blueprints.

"Of course. Take care of yourself, Luke."

"You too, Poe."

As Poe exited the room, BB-8 paused and looked at Luke. He rolled over to the Jedi, and nudged Luke's leg. He beeped a few things Luke knew meant to be encouragement and comfort. Luke smiled and patted BB-8 on the head. With a few satisfied bleeps, BB-8 rolled out the door.

Luke sighed and looked at the crate Poe had delivered. It was filled with the smallest of things, most of which had no reason to have escaped the flames yet through a series of random circumstances had manage. They were a lot like Luke, he should have been lost to those flames, yet there he stood.

Shifting through the box, Luke didn't find much of significance. A charred frying pan, a blast remote to practise using a lightsaber to deflect bolts, a chip containing some poorly written science fiction HoloNovel Luke had probably found in a one credit bin at a refueling station to pass the hours on a long trip.

But there were also a few things that Luke was glad to see had survived: the box containing both Luke and Felicity's medals of bravery for defeating the Death Star, the replica the gold jacket Luke wore at the medal ceremony where he met Felicity, Felicity's favorite blaster – a blocky silver NN-14 Han always liked the look of – and the japor snippet Anakin Skywalker had once gifted Padmé Amidala that had been reclaimed by the Naberrie family before her burial that Padmé's sister Sola later gave to Luke.

There was also an assortment of old Holos including a fifteen-year-old Luke posing on Tatooine in front of his first speeder, a Holo of Felicity and Leia with Felicity's brother Brendan that was taken a month before his death, a Holo of Padmé Amidala that Luke had received from the Naberrie family, and a Holo of Luke and Han in their suits at Han and Leia's wedding.

The thought of weddings led Luke to probably the most painful item in the box. Though her wedding dress had been eaten up by the flames, the metal box Felicity had stored her wedding veil had proven to be flame-resistant.

Luke's hands shook as he lifted the veil out of the box. The day he married Felicity Rhiaon had been the happiest day of his life, rivaled only by the day she gave birth to their daughter Rey.

"Do you, Luke Skywalker take this woman to be your partner in life and sharing your path; equal in love, a mirror for your true self, promising to honor and cherish, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Luke vowed, unable to wipe the adorably goofy grin off his face that made Felicity Rhiaon fall in love with him in the first place.

Felicity have that mischievous one corner of her mouth upturned smirk that Luke could never resist, "Good. I did not spend all that time getting this dress altered for you to go, 'yeah, maybe not' at the last second."

Luke broke down at the memory. How many times had he pictured with growing old and grey together? How many times had the argued over whether or not Felicity would allow Luke to grow a beard when got to be a wrinkly, wise, ancient mentor? How many times had Felicity boasted that she was going to stay in good enough shape that she could still kick Captain Phasma's ass in hand-to-hand combat when Felicity was fifty-five or even sixty? How many times did Han and Luke joke that Luke was going to freak out his grandkids with his false hand? How many times did Luke imagine walking Rey down the aisle, maybe even as she wore her mother's veil on her wedding day?

He sobbed as his clutched his wife's wedding veil, the words 'for as long as you both shall live' echoing in his head. Luke remembered the day he and Felicity decided on those words in place of 'till death do you part' as they had both knew that their love would last beyond the grave. Luke had always thought that when they did pass, it would be at the very most a few years apart. Secretly, Luke had even hoped that they would pass away peacefully in their sleep in their nineties on the very same night, maybe even holding hands.

And yet there he was at thirty-nine, a widower to the greatest woman he could have ever hoped to love.

As sadistic as it sounded, Luke wished there had been a body. He wished that the First Order had been cruel enough to throw his wife's corpse at his feet. At least then he could have held her, desperately clutching his cold, still body in his embrace as he cried out to the heavens. It would have been something out of a gothic tragedy, his sorrow consuming him as her head hung limp and her glassy eyes staring unseeingly at the sky.

He would have built her the best pyre imaginable, and cremated her with the highest respect and noblest of ceremonies. It would have been the same for Rey if he had her body. Luke probably would have laid Rey in her mother's arms, and watch silently as they burned.

Then again, maybe it was a good thing he couldn't light their pyre. If he had, Luke probably would have thrown himself upon it.

Is this what it felt like for his father the day he was told his wife and child was dead? This anger, this emptiness, this rage at the world? Luke could almost understood wanting to build a Death Star and destroy all the people who had taken them from him.

Almost.

Slamming the lid of the veil box shut, Luke dropped to his knees and sobbed. Everything he had loved and worked so hard for was gone. And it was all his fault. He stayed there, crouched underneath Felicity's desk, sobbing, uncaring if anyone saw him. Nothing could ever make this better.

But a person can't cry forever, and eventually Luke ran out of tears. He body convulsed with dry heaves, but soon that too came to a stop. Luke just crouched there, his mind blank like it had been the night of the massacre, staring at nothing, dead to the world.

And then he saw it.

Lying forgotten underneath the desk was a doll.

Rey had many toys, in fact probably too many. She had many honorary uncles, plus an actual aunt and uncle who liked spoiling her with treasures from their travels. Even Poe Dameron and the other Jedi had gotten in on the game. Luke and Felicity tried their best to taper off the excess of gifts, but the other had soon caught on to the idea that if Rey saw the gift before Luke and Felicity said no, her parents rarely had the heart to deny her her present.

Lando was probably the worse offender, always bringing her lavish gifts, spoiling her like she was his own daughter. Eventually things got out of control with Lando's gifts, and Felicity had had a few 'words' with him. Luke wasn't certainly exactly what was said, but the next thing he knew, Lando eased back to a reasonable level.

But this doll wasn't something a family friend had picked up in a shop. This doll had been handstitched by Felicity.

It was a hobby Felicity had picked up in the early days her involvement of the Rebellion. In need of stress relief, Felicity would take scraps of fabric and sew them into various creatures, and the dolls would be handed out to children during aid missions. Felicity had become rather famous in the Rebellion for her hobby and often received requests for her to sew them for the newborn children of Rebel soldiers. In fact, Poe Dameron's first toy had been a loper sewn by Felicity.

This doll in particular had been modeled after Felicity, Rey begging her mother to make her a mommy doll to go with all the dolls her uncles bought her that looked like Rey. It was faceless and had brown hair tied into a messy bun. She wore Rey's favorite outfit of Felicity's: the one she had worn while stealing the Death Star plans. Black pants and boots with cool looking gun belts strapped around her waist and right look. Brown fingerless gloves and vest, and a long sleeved blue shirt. Luke shared Rey's love of the outfit, often saying that if he had run into Felicity when he was nineteen, he definitely wouldn't have spent all those years mooning after Leia.

Luke grabbed the doll and stared at it painfully. How many times had he scolded Rey for leaving her toys laying around everywhere? How many times had he scolded her for bringing toys to the dinner table? How many times had he scolded her for playing with her toys when it was bedtime?

How many toys had he scolded her for the stupidest things? For rolling her eyes while someone said something she found stupid (something Luke knew for a fact she had picked up from Han.) For refusing to eat all of her vegetables? For throwing a temper tantrum like any five-year-old? For touching something she shouldn't? For going outside to play without supervision?

How many times had he made his precious daughter sad? Angry? Frustrated? How many times had he hurt his little girl?

He wanted to take it all back. Turn back the clock and replace every bad thing with something good. He wanted to hold her in his arms and make her smile. He wanted to play with her endless sea of toys. He wanted spin her around, dance, laugh, and do anything that made her happy. He wanted to show and teach her the things he had waited until she was older to do. He wanted to teach her hand-to-hand combat, how to use a lightsaber, how to fly a ship, comfort her the first time someone broke her heart, let her have her first sip of alcohol, let her cut and dye her hair in whatever crazy fashion the rebellious teenager wanted to.

Luke slowly rose to his feet and set the doll on the desk next to Felicity's wedding veil.

He wanted a lifetime with his wife and daughter… and all he had was useless junk.

Luke finally let out the scream of rage he had been holding back for months. He grabbed things out of the crate at random and threw them against the wall.

Junk. Junk. Junk! It was all useless junk! Junk that could never replace having Rey and Felicity in his life, only haunting him with their memories.

Loud crashes filled the room as most of the item broke them a shatter. What good was any of it? They were gone and it was all his fault. Though Luke felt the catharsis of the destruction, he felt empty when he ran out of things to break. He still didn't have his girls, and now his treasured possessions were broken.

And it was all his fault.

Luke fell to his knees and sobbed again.

Felicity and Rey were dead, Ben was corrupted, and the First Order was taking control. It was all his fault. He couldn't save them, the people he loved had been hurt, and it was all his.

His fault. His fault. His fault!

Luke felt a warmth on his shoulder like someone trying to put their hand on it.

"I'm so sorry, my son," the ghostly voice of Anakin Skywalker filled the room. "I understand how you feel."

Luke looked up with tear filled eyes to see the blue form of his father trying to comfort him as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda looked on sympathetically. As Luke's eyes took in his father, rage flared up in his chest.

"This is all your fault," Luke whispered. Anger building in his core, Luke stood and screamed, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Luke moved forward as if to attack Anakin, but failed when his hands went through Anakin's ghostly form. Despite knowing Luke couldn't hurt him, Anakin stood a still backward as Obi-Wan rushed to Luke's side.

"Luke, calm down," Obi-Wan instructed.

"Calm down? Calm down? MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER ARE DEAD AND IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!"

Anakin tried to defend himself, "Luke, listen-"

"No!" Luke screamed. "Everything truly bad that has ever happened to me is because of you! You cut off my hand! You threatened my sister! You burned down my childhood home, murdering my aunt and uncle! You killed the Jedi! You dismantled the Republic! You created the Empire! You killed Obi-Wan! You froze Han in carbonite! You shot down Biggs! You tortured Leia and killed the innocent billions of her planet! You made my mother die!"

Anakin physically recoiled at the final accusation.

"And after all that you somehow managed to find redemption," Luke spat the words as if they were bitter acid. "Yet the effect of your tyranny lived on. How many people wake up everyday with loved ones dead because of you? How many people wake up screaming like Felicity does… did sometimes, remembering the things you did to them? But it doesn't end there, because Vader's legacy lived on. The Empire's legacy lived on. Now we have the First Order. Now we have another slaughtered Jedi Order. Now we have another Sith, or whatever Snoke and Kylo want to call themselves. Now we have another dead mother and child who wastes away in a desert. Except this time that child will never leave that planet. Felicity and Rey are dead because of you!"

Anakin closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame. He had no excuse to give.

"I want to see them," Luke turned to Obi-Wan. "Make Felicity and Rey appear to me like you do!"

Obi-Wan looked at the other Jedi awkwardly, "It doesn't work like that, Luke."

"Why not? Why can't they come?" Luke demanded.

"Only Force Sensitives can do this, Luke," Obi-Wan answered. "Felicity could never become like us, and Rey didn't prepare herself."

Plus there was the little fact that not both Rey and Felicity were dead. Obi-Wan however, could not tell Luke that. It was against the rules of being a Force Ghost. If he tried to say something like 'hey, go to Jakku, Rey's actually alive and waiting for you' Obi-Wan would be physically incapable of opening his mouth.

It was painful to see Luke suffering from the thought that his wife and daughter were dead, but it was worse knowing that it wasn't true.

"Careful with your grief, you must be," Yoda advised. Luke angrily noticed that Yoda didn't appear to be too perturbed by Luke's grief. "Of the Dark Side these emotions are. Against attachments for this is exact reason, I advise."

"Uh, oh," Anakin muttered, taking another step back.

"Well, excuse me for getting upset over the fact that my five-year-old daughter is dead!" Luke's eyes flashed. "I don't mean to bother you with my petty problems! Of course that wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't been too old to be trained and brainwashed by your mantras against human emotion! But of course, that's not my fault, is it? Who was the one who waited until I was nineteen to start training me?"

Obi-Wan looked away.

"Insult the child, I did not intend to," Yoda calmly replied.

"Of course not, but her mother who doubts the Force is free game, isn't she?"

"We have nothing against Felicity, Luke," Obi-Wan assured him. "She is a good partner for you. We're just worried about how you're dealing with your grief."

"It's very easy to become obsessed with loss, Luke," Anakin added. "Take it from someone who made that mistake. It gets you nothing in the end, and you just push anyone who might be left to support you. You can't waste your life on what if, because if you do, when your life comes to an end you wind up thinking what if I hadn't wasted my life. Maybe if I hadn't let my grief consume me, I could have been saved a lot sooner."

Luke stared at his father, conflicting, bitter emotions swirling about, "I don't care about anyone getting saved. It's too late for Rey and Felicity and the others."

"What about Ben?" Anakin asked.

Luke's face hardened, "After what Kylo did to Felicity… I don't want to save him."

Silence filled the room. Luke Skywalker who believed in Darth Vader after Obi-Wan and Yoda gave up, had just sentenced Ben Solo to a life of darkness with no chance of redemption.

"Errored we have in the past," Yoda admitted. "Natural, grief is, and allow time to work through it, we must. For your wife and child, grieve, Luke Skywalker. Then in their memories, rebuild the Jedi Order you will."

"What?" Luke felt like he had been slapped."You're already telling me to rebuild the Order?"

"Of the essence, time is," Yoda nodded.

Anakin was in the corner, shaking his head, "How am I the smartest ghost in the room right now? I thought cutting off my son's hand before asking him to rule the Galaxy with me was a good idea."

Luke however, was shaking, "I have spent the last twenty years of my life rebuilding the Jedi Order and fixing the mess you three made! Yes, three! Because of your pride and stubbornness, whether it was on the idea of allowing attachments, unwillingness to confess you had a problem, or view that Sith are unredeemable, the Jedi Order fell and took the Republic with it. You waited nineteen years to do a damn thing about it, and put it all on my shoulders. I struggled for three years without any guidance, and then was told I couldn't be trained, despite everything apparently riding on me being so. Then you kept to your stubborn pride that put us here in the first place and told me somehow to fix things. And I did. I gave everything I had for twenty years to rebuild the Jedi Order, and in one moment, because one boy decided to idolize your mistakes it was all gone. Dozens of people were slaughtered because of the legacy of your mistakes. Now their bodies are barely cold and you're asking me to replace them?"

And then Luke hit upon it, the question he hadn't considered since he was nineteen years old. He always knew it was his duty, his responsibility, his mission to be and rebuild the Jedi.

But did he even want to be one? A long time ago his answer would have been an automatic yes, but as he stood in the ashen village of his efforts, he felt the passion gone.

He had once spoken with Felicity on the topic of optimism. She had called herself a pessimist, but Luke told her he saw a spark in her eye. Felicity had told him it was a dying ember that Luke replied could be fanned back into a flame. He had only known her a few months at the time, the conversation taking place at the beginning of their friendship. Luke would spend the next ten years fanning that ember, helping Felicity believe in the world again.

And then Ben cruelly stamped out that flame, and with it, so went out the flame of Luke's passion to be a Jedi. He didn't want it anymore, people trusting him, believing in him, and relying on him. He just let them down.

It reminded him of another memory of Felicity from a time when the two of them had seriously questioned whether or not they could be a couple with her disbelief in the Force.

"I love you, Luke," Felicity said. "But you need to understand that I'm never going to view the idea of destiny with more than raised eyebrows. To me it's all just a logical sequence of events, with the occasional random thing thrown it. Believe me, I've tried not to be this way, but I can't do it. I can't find it in myself to believe something like my brother's entire purpose was to die so that I could steal the plans to the Death Star so that some farm kid could get his sorry butt off Tatooine."

Luke replied, "And I can't believe that all of that wasn't part of a plan to save the Galaxy from the Empire, find Han and Leia, and lead me to you."

"And I respect that, but I can't bring myself to agree."

"Then where does leave us?"

Felicity smiled, "At a compromise."

Luke frowned questioningly at her as Felicity put a hand on his cheek. As Felicity gave a happy sigh, Luke placed his hand over hers.

"Luke, we can make this work," Felicity pressed her forehead against his. "And do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I will never believe in destiny… but I'll always believe in you. I know that we love each other, and that what we have is special. So no matter what comes our way, we'll always be at each other's side, keeping each other from harm."

Luke smiled, "Always?"

"Always," Felicity whispered. "I will always believe in you."

It was gamble that cost Felicity her life… and that of their daughter.

"I can't do it," Luke whispered. "I can't start over."

Obi-Wan sighed, "In time-"

"No!" Luke snapped. "Never! I'm done! Done with the Jedi, done with the First Order, done with you!"

Luke looked around at the stunned ghosts. His choice made, Luke knew what he needed to do next.

"I want you to leave," Luke coldly declared. "All of you. Go back to the Force, or the afterlife, or wherever you go when you're not bothering me, and never come back."

The ghosts looked at each other in a loss of what to say.

"Luke," Obi-Wan said.

"Just leave me alone, Ben," Luke shook his head.

Yoda sighed, "If that is what you wish."

And Yoda was gone.

Obi-Wan looked at Luke, "I'm sorry for ruining your life."

And Obi-Wan was gone to.

Luke locked eyes with Anakin who looked like he desperately didn't want to leave his son.

"Luke," Anakin pleaded. "Please don't do this."

"Goodbye Father," Luke simply said.

And Anakin was gone.

Luke was alone. Looking around the room, he felt a heavy sense of finality and displacement.

"I have to get out of here," Luke whispered.

Luke crossed the room and pulled a holo to the side revealing a small locked safe hidden away.

"Passcode?" the safe prompted.

"Brendan Rhiaon died a martyr," Luke spoke Felicity's passcode and a minute later the safe clicked open.

Only one thing sat in the safe, a small pouch hanging on a string that could be tied as a necklace. Inside was a data chip that once held a copy of the Death Star schematics, but now it held the Jedi Order's greatest secret.

Closing the safe, Luke tied the string around his neck. He grabbed the Holo of the laughing Felicity and Rey, and Rey's Felicity doll.

Luke didn't look back as he walked away.

It had to have been the worst time for Luke to walk past the door of Han and Leia's room. Staying in the guest room of Reine Agim's house, Leia and Han were in the middle of a heated argument.

"Don't play stupid, Sweetheart!" Han snapped. "I saw the torture footage! I heard what Ben said to Felicity! When exactly were you going to tell me that the reason we sent Ben to Luke was that he was hearing voices in his head?"

"I'm sorry, Han but what was I supposed to say?" Leia replied, her voice twice the volume as normal.

"I don't know, how about, hey Han, our son's hearing voices! Maybe we should do something about it!"

"Look, I didn't think you'd know how to deal with it. Luke and I are Force Sensitive so we understand this a little better, and Felicity only knew because she's the one who told us in the first place."

"Right, sorry, I forgot, you and Luke are the might Jedi and I'm just the guy who knocked you up."

"It's not like that, and you know it!"

Luke winced as he stood in the hallway. This was his fault, he had failed Ben and now Han and Leia were paying the price. More sure than ever of his decision, Luke carefully slipped into his room and started packing.

Leia was sitting on the bed, head in hands as Han stood facing the wall, hands pressed upon it and leaning forwards. It was painful to hear the quiet sobs Leia was trying to repress.

Han sighed and walked over to the bed, "I'm sorry."

Leia sniffed and said, "Hold me."

Han sat down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. He couldn't help remember the night on Endor Luke had left. Leia had asked him to hold her the same way, and it had been the moment Han knew he wanted to spend his life with her. No matter what fight they had, no matter what secret they may hold, no matter what trauma they went through, no matter what forces may try to tear them apart, Han needed this five foot nothing trigger happy Princess who could match him in their battle of wits. He may just be some stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder, but he was her stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder.

"Hey, I love you," Han said.

"I know," Leia couldn't stop the small smile that graced her expression. "We can't keep doing this."

Han grinned, "Actually, I think it's because we haven't been yelling at each other as much as usual that this happened."

"Han-"

"I don't care if you didn't tell me about Ben. I know I haven't been the best father, and that's on me, but now this is bigger than Ben being a moody teenager."

"I know," Leia sighed, resting her head on his broad chest. "I can't believe we're going back to war."

"Hey, if the First Order thinks they can kill our sister and niece and get away with it, then bring it on."

"What are we going to do about Luke? I can't imagine the pain he's going through right now."

"We do what we should have done when he found out Vader was his dad. He stand by him and help him through this. We're not going to leave him to suffer and blame himself like last time. Now, in my defence of last time, I was frozen in carbonite, but I don't know what your excuse is."

"Han," Leia warned.

"I'm just messing with you," Han squeezed Leia. "But I'm serious, we need to stand behind Luke."

"And we're not going to let him blame himself and do something drastic."

Little did they know, he already had.

"Looking for something in particular?"

Luke jumped nearly a foot when he was caught by Doctor Kalonia raiding the medical closet of her office.

"Doctor Kalonia! I didn't hear you come in," Luke said, trying to calm his heartrate back to normal.

"You didn't answer my question," Kalonia said pointedly.

"Uh," Luke looked back at the closet. "I was having troubles sleeping and wanted to find something for that."

"Really? Because your bag is filled being topped with what looks like basic first aid supplies," Kalonia stared at the duffle bag at Luke's feet that was filled with clothing, food, weapons, credit chips, and other such provisions. "Planning a trip?"

"Sort of," Luke confessed. "Look, if we could keep this just between us…"

"Alright, but only because I like you Master Skywalker," Kalonia carefully looked Luke over. "I'm sorry for your loss, Luke. Felicity, Rey, and the other deserved better."

"Well, I'm just glad someone other than me survived."

"I'm glad I caught you, actually… if it was because you're raiding my supplies. I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Your sister has asked me to join the medical team of the Resistance. I told her I would be honoured, but my first duty is to the Jedi Order."

"Doctor, if you want to join the Resistance, that would be fine with me," Luke said.

"I know," Kalonia nodded. "But that's not what I was getting after. If you need me, I'll stay, but if I don't have a job anymore…"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're getting at."

"Luke, will you be rebuilding the Order?" Kalonia asked. "If yes, I'll stay on, but if you're not…"

Luke looked down, "I'm afraid that the Jedi Order is going to be put on hold for a while."

Kalonia nodded, understanding the words that Luke dare not utter, "I understand. I'll tell Leia in the morning that it would be my honour to serve the Resistance."

"I'm glad of it."

A silence hung in the room.

"Luke," Kalonia finally said. "I know you've been through something traumatic, but be careful, you don't want to do anything rash."

Luke smiled, "Thank you."

"If you ever wanted to talk to someone I can recommend a few therapists who might help you."

Luke laughed, "I think I've been a lost cause to therapists ever since I found out the man who cut off my hand was my father and that I'd made out with my twin sister."

Kalonia couldn't suppress her chuckle.

"Here," Kalonia reached up and grabbed a small box, "it's a first aid kit that has a few more advanced things your average kit doesn't."

"Thank you," Luke smiled and put the kit in his bag.

"It's been an honour to serve you, Luke."

"The honour's all mine."

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Luke shook Kalonia's hand and picked up the bag, "Goodbye my friend."

"May the Force be with you."

"And with you."

Luke thought he was in the clear when he made it to his X-Wing unnoticed. He had stored his bag in the hatch when he heard a familiar beeping.

"Quiet, Artoo," Luke ordered as Artoo rolled towards him. "I don't want anyone to hear me."

Artoo beeped something.

"I'm… going away for a while."

Beep beep.

"No, I'm not sure where."

Bop, beep, bleep.

"No… you're not coming with me."

BEEP, BEEP, BOP, BOOP, BLIP!

"Because I need to be on my own for a while."

Bleep.

Luke sighed, defeat lining his voice, "I can't do it anymore, Artoo. I can't stay here knowing what happened to my students… and my girls."

Beep, beep, boop.

"I do want you to come, but it's just not for the best."

Bloop, bee, boo.

"Well… there is one thing you can do."

Bee?

"Hide the map. The one to Ahch-to. Don't let anyone know you have it."

Boop, bop, beep.

"No, I don't know if I'm going there, but just in case…"

Bee, bee, bee.

"Yes, I'm sure about this."

Suddenly Artoo rammed into Luke's leg. At first Luke thought Artoo was attacking him as Artoo did from time to time when he was determined to stop Luke. Then Luke recognized what Artoo was saying and realized Artoo was giving his imitation of a hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, buddy," Luke patted Artoo's dome. "Thank you for everything. I owe you for so much."

Beep, bop, boop.

"No, Artoo, I won't forget it," Luke chuckled. "Goodbye my friend. I hope we see each other again."

And with that, Luke climbed into the cockpit and flew away.

Blaming himself, Luke walked away from everything.

Artoo watched him leave sadly. Luke had been the constant in Artoo's life for twenty years, and the Skywalkers for decades before that. Artoo belonged to the Skywalkers, he loyally served Padmé Amidala, then Anakin Skywalker, then Leia Organa, and finally Luke Skywalker with eventually the addition of Rey Rhiaon Skywalker. Artoo was made to be their friend, his purpose was to help the Skywalkers, and he would belong to no other. Now Artoo was without one, he had no Skywalker to serve, and thus, no point to continue on. Masterless, Artoo did not know what next to do.

And then he decided.

Artoo's dome turned to scan the room and he locked visual on the charge port. He wheeled himself up to it, plugged himself in, and switched into low power mode.

Someday a Skywalker would return for him. He just had to wait.

"Master Luke!" Threepio shuffled down the hallway in search of his former Master.

There had been quite a commotion that morning when everyone woke to find Master Luke had disappeared. Several of his possessions were missing and Doctor Kalonia reported that Master Luke had discussed a trip the previous night, but Threepio wouldn't believe it. Master Luke would not simply just run off of his own accord.

Well… except that time Master Luke discovered Artoo had run away.

… And that time Master Luke realized the Empire would have traced Artoo and himself to the Lars Homestead.

… And that time on the Death Star when Master Luke convinced Captain Solo to rescue Princess Leia.

… And that time Master Luke went with Artoo to Dagobah to meet Master Yoda.

… And that time Master Luke left Master Yoda to rescue them on Bespin.

… And that time Master Luke surrendered himself on Endor.

... And that time the terrible Captain Phasma had taken Mistress Felicity hostage while Mistress Felicity was carrying the developing fetus of Mistress Rey within her reproductive system.

… And that time-

Threepio's hardware detected a pattern.

Oh, dear.

"Master Luke," Threepio padded towards the garage of Reine Agim's home. "Master Luke, where are you?"

The others had taken to the woods and various buildings on Rornian to find Master Luke, but Threepio had been assigned Master Luke's temporary residence. Determined not to let anyone down, Threepio was being most thorough in his examination of each room, but had yet to obtain a positive result.

"Oh, Artoo, there you are," Threepio said as he entered the garage. "Where have you been? Master Luke is missing and we need your help to find him."

Artoo said nothing.

"Don't you stay powered off," Threepio chastised. "Look, Master Luke's X-Wing is gone. He might be in danger. Wake up and come help us."

Artoo was silent.

"Artoo, I am speaking to you!"

Nothing.

"… Artoo?"

Threepio shuffled over to Artoo and tapped his dome. Still Artoo didn't move. That was when Threepio recognized the signs of low power mode.

"Artoo, wake up! Please wake up, my friend!"

Nothing.

"Artoo, please, loathe I am to admit it, I… I need you."

Nothing.

"Artoo, please, is there anything I can do to get you to wake up?"

But there wasn't. No matter how much Threepio begged and pleaded, no matter how many people Threepio raced to, hysterically shouting the news and begging them to do something, no matter how many planets Threepio insisted Leia drag Artoo along with them to on the off chance that this time his pleaded would finally work… Artoo would not reply.

It would be fourteen years before a Skywalker returned, and R2-D2 woke up.